Assistant Professor of Marketing Gautham Vadakkepatt, director of the Center for Retail Transformation at the George Mason University School of Business, has been named a RETHINK Retail Top 100 Retail Influencer, an annual list featuring the world’s most instrumental influencers in retail.
This list is comprised of retail experts, consultants, analysts, academics, journalists, and thought leaders who are making an impact in retail in 2021. Vadakkepatt is among four retail program leaders from academia, the others representing the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Business School, and the Stern School at New York University.
The Center for Retail Transformation at Mason aspires to be a go-to resource for startup, small, and medium sized retailers and other members of the retail ecosystem.
The center is developing strategic partnerships and alliances with retail sector leaders, trade associations, and key government entities with oversight and interaction with the retail sector. The center will leverage those relationships to enhance George Mason University's ability to educate retail leaders and practitioners, including Mason School of Business students and retail sector visitors from around the world.
The partnerships will also inform and enhance the center’s research into retail industry trends and changes. Consistent with the School of Business’ emphasis on sustainability, the center will promote socially-responsible retail initiatives, and encourage the industry to adopt innovative best practices.
Vadakkepatt’s research examines the impact of a firm’s technology, social media and non-product strategies (such as lobbying and sustainability) on customer experience and firm performance with a specific focus on retail sector. His research has been published in the top journals of marketing. He is the recipient of the discipline-wide 2015 MSI/H Paul Root Award from the Journal of Marketing and Marketing Science Institute and a finalist for the 2020 Sheth Foundation/Journal of Marketing Award for long-term contributions to the field of marketing.